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Saturday, February 15, 2014

Steak with Papilotte Blue Cheese Potatoes Mushrooms and Chard

Papilotte is a method of cooking in which vegetables and sometimes seafood and meats are steamed baked while wrapped in parchment paper. The name comes from the French. In this recipe, I combined Yukon Gold potatoes, red onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, chard and blue cheese to be steamed baked in the oven. I then grilled New York Strip steaks to be served with the vegetables. For a vegetarian meal, simply omit the steak. I also recommend the papilotte method of cooking for weeknight fare. The packaged vegetables can be wrapped up in parchment paper ahead of time and simply placed in the oven to cook when ready.

On a large plate combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, cumin, curry, paprika, garlic, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Stir the ingredients together using a small fork until well combined. Place the steaks onto the marination to coat the meat on all sides. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and let the steaks marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or more.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl combine the potatoes, mushrooms, red onions, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Mixed the ingredients together until the vegetables are coated with the oil.

Cut 2 parchment papers into 14 inch by 12 inch rectangles. Divide the mixed vegetables in half and place each each half in the center of each parchment paper. Add half the tomatoes and half the blue cheese onto each parchment paper rectangle. To seal the parchment paper, roll the paper over the ingredients and twist the ends to seal (should look like a tootsie roll candy wrapper). Poultry twine can be used to tie and secure the ends. Place the wrapped vegetables onto a rimmed baking sheet and then into the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Thin steaks less than 1/2 inch thick will cook quickly over high heat (about 3-4 minutes on each side for medium rare plus a couple of minutes to cool). Steaks 3/4 inch thick will take about 5-6 minutes on each side for medium rare plus 3-5 minutes to cool. Keep this in mind if you are trying to time the readiness of the steaks with the baking vegetables.While the vegetables bake, remove the steaks from the refrigerator. Place a skillet over high heat (wait until the pan is hot). Place the steaks onto the hot skillet to pan fry and cook to your liking (see previous paragraph for times). Best to only flip the steaks once. When cooked to desired wellness, remove the steaks from the pan and let cool on a plate.Remove the vegetables from the oven. Let the vegetables cool for 3-5 minutes. To serve, transfer the parchment paper with the vegetables onto plates. Open the parchments, add a steak to each package and serve with some crumbled blue cheese on the side. Enjoy.